Moana is the story of a young girl who goes on an adventure to restore the Heart of Te Fiti in order to stop the death and stagnation of her island home. The film Moana is an almagamation of Polynesian cultures, but The Rose Table chose to derive most of its inspiration from Hawaii describing the affair as, “A colorful Hawaiian menu set on the island of Montunui”.

The hostess, Katie-Rose Watson, decorated her dining room with banana leaves, raffia placemats, conch shells, pineapples instead of floral arrangements, and orchid leis used as both decor and mementos for her guests. Katie-Rose describes her Moana party as the Disney Dinner that was the most difficult to plan, but the easiest dinner party to throw. I suspect that’s due to the relatively simple but incredibly effective menu.

No Hawaiian-inspired menu would be complete without mai tais but The Rose Table would never just simply sit out a pitcher. Instead, the hostess garnished every single mai tai with a single orchid bloom, noting that one should wash the blooms in ice water ahead of time.

The menu consisted of Pineapple Pork Skewers, Ahi Tuna Poke, and Mini Pineapple Cheesecakes. The appetizer skewers only require 10-15 minutes of grilling time and for the ahi tuna poke dish the only thing you have to cook is the rice, the rest of the recipe is merely slicing, dicing and mixing your ingredients together. For dessert, the mini cheesecakes require some minimal baking, but nothing that a beginner couldn’t handle. Of all the Disney Dinner menus, this one is by far the least complicated and involved. I’ve been in awe of the previous dinners, but this one intrigues me the most since it seems like even I could replicate it and I’m nowhere near the hostess that Katie-Rose is.

If The Rose Table wanted to take a victory lap in the form of belting out “You’re Welcome”, I certainly wouldn’t object.

The year of Disney Dinners continues next month and will be inspired by what I believe to be the most underrated of the Disney Renaissance films, Hercules and The Rose Table will be sure that it goes the distance.